All Medals

The obverse bears nude Columbia seated on winged car, holding palm frond in outstretched left and resting right on cornucopia; on left, rising sun over clouds; on right, clouds. At left above sun, 1892; signed at right with artist's letter V.

The reverse bears dedication: TO / Thies J. Lefens / ONE OF THE DIRECTORS / OF THE WORLD'S / COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION / FROM ITS PRESIDENT / HARLOW N. HIGINBOTHAM / CHICAGO / 1893

Thies Jacob Lefens (1846-1913) was a Chicago-based real estate dealer and businessman. He was born in Hamburg and emigrated to the U.S. in 1863. After working in the produce commission business he joined the Conrad Seipp brewing company, where he eventually became secretary and treasurer.  He married into the Seipp family and entered the real estate business.

This medal exists in several variations and materials.  Vedder's design on the obvese is combined with different dedications to honor designers, architects, managers, and other high-ranking dignitaries of the Columbian Exposition.  All variations are quite rare.

The circular medal measures 64mm in diameter and was struck in silver. No mintage is reported.

Images courtesy of Stack's Bowers Galleries, www.StacksBowers.com.

The uniface medal bears a massive steam shovel in a strip mine, loaded bucket at left. Around, PEABODY COAL COMPANY · BUCYRUS · ERIE COMPANY / · FOR THE FUTURE OF COAL ·

Neither of the two commemorated companies exist anymore.  Peabody Coal filed for bankruptcy in 2016 and Bucyrus Erie, a company that was heavily into coal equipment and mining, was acquired by Caterpillar in 1997.

With the advent of Global Warming concerns, coal production and use in the U.S. came under heavy regulation, until it became unprofitable for many companies during the Obama administration.  This medal is a great memento of a bygone industrial period.

The circular medal measures 75.8mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1962-040

The medal's obverse bears bust of Abraham Jacobi facing left. Around top, A · JACOBI · MD; around bottom, · M C M X · ; signed under truncation, MOWBRAY CLARKE

The reverse bears wreath and legend, · PRESENTED · / · IN · CELEBRATION · OF · HIS · / · FIFTY · YEARS · OF · SERVICE · / AT / · MT · SINAI · HOSPITAL · / · BY · THE · ASSOCIATED · / ALUMNI · / MDCCCLX / MCMX ·

Dr. Abraham Jacobi (1830-1919) was a German physician and pioneer of pediatrics, opening the first children's clinic in the United States. After studying medicine in Germany, he was involved in the 1848 revolution and served time in jail before leaving his home country for England in 1853. In exile, he lived with Karl Marx and Freidrich Engels before setting sail for the U.S. in 1854.

To date, he is the only foreign-born president of the American Medical Association. He helped found the American Journal of Obstetrics and is regarded as the Father of American Pediatrics.

The circular medal measures 50.9mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1910-003

The obverse bears Art Deco image of Bellerophon with lyre riding winged pegasus above sun. Around, ART DIRECTORS CLUB / INCORPORATED 1920.

The reverse bears painter with palette and brush in center. Around center, AWARDED FOR SPECIAL MERIT. Around edge, laurel wreath with (PM monogram) at bottom.

The edge is marked MEDALLIC ART CO. N.Y.

Louis Pedlar founded the Art Directors' Club of New York in 1920 in response to the uncertain relationship between advertising art and fine art. Pedlar assembled a group of art buyers, art department managers and layout artists to ponder whether advertising art could be judged by the same stringent standards as fine art.

Obviously the answer was "yes" because Paul Manship was asked to create a medal to be used as an award. Awards were given annually in the areas of black-and-white illustration, color illustration, oil painting, and poster art, though not always in all areas.

An article published in Printers' Ink Monthly outlines the process that was used:

"All mediums were given consideration; black-and-white, flat color, oil painting and decorative design. A rigid standard of selection was enforced, and the 300 pictures shown, selected from many thousands submitted, represented the best there is in advertiding design.

Both the organization and the award still exist but the medal was replaced by a modern cube in the 1970's.

The medal measures 54mm (2 1/8in) in diameter and were manufactured by the Medallic Art Company of New York.

References:   MACo 1921-07, Murtha 139

The medal's obverse bears numbre 2000 on centerfield, with sun moon, and earth doubling up as the zeros in the number. Around, (compass rose) ENLIGHTENED BY THE PAST (compass rose) EMBRACED BY THE PRESENT (compass rose) / EMPOWERED BY THE FUTURE

The reverse bears sun with inscribed 2000; calendar months arranged in segments around center.

My sterling silver piece is numbered on the edge, so at least the sterling variant was editioned. While I have seen the medal in trimillium‒the Franklin Mint's invented material for high-end medals‒I only assume that a bronze version exists.  The design seems to be very intentional about the different finishes, so it is possible that the polished sterling silver variant was the main variant. I would appreciate any additional information that is available for this medal.

The circular medal measures 76mm in diameter and was struck in different metals by the Franklin Mint. No mintage is reported.

References:   Cal FM-2000

The medal's obverse bears portrait of Albert Ehlebert Ebert, quarter left; laurel wreath around bottom. Around top, ALBERT ETHELBERT EBERT; across, 1840 - 1906

The reverse bears wreath partially showing through gaps in inscription field. Around, AMERICAN PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOCIATION - ORGANIZED 1857 INCORPORATED 1888; across, EBERT PRIZE / AWARDED TO / (engraved) LESTER F. HOYT / 1926

Albert Ethelbert Ebert (1840-1906) was born in Bavaria but came to the U.S. as a one year old. His family settled in Chicago. He apprenticed with the pharmacists to learn not just the selling of ready-made remedies but also the German-style compounding. He studied Pharmacology first in Chicago, then In Philadelphia and finally in Munich, where he also studied Chemistry. He represented the American Pharmaceutical Association at conferences abroad and established the Ebert Prize in 1873. The Ebert Prize, the oldest pharmacy award in the U.S., is awarded for the best essay or communication containing original investigation of a medical substance in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Lester F. Hoyt and J. A. Handy won the award in 1926 for their study of "Diethylphtalate"

The circular medal measures 76mm in diameter. Neither maker nor mintage are reported.

The plaquette bears seated female figure, l., holding vase in both hands; to her left, view of Gorham factory in Providence, Rhode Island; above two cherubs flanking Gorham stamps consisting of lion, anchor and Gothic letter G. In exergue, GORHAM MFG CO. / PROVIDENCE R. I.; signed at right bottom, E. E. CODMAN Sc

This handsome little plaquette might have been a salesman's sample of the products Gorham could produce. It is struck on a very thin planchet, maybe to keep the weight down.

The rectangular plaquette mesaures 95.8mm x 46mm and was struck in bronze by the Gorham Manufacturing Company of Providence, Rhode Island.

The medal's obverse depicts standing Liberty with flag and shield bearing American Eagle.  Around, THAT THE WORLD MIGHT BE SAFE FOR DEMOCRACY

The medal's reverse bears sword and laurels with superimposed cartouche.  Around, ∙ SONS ∙ OF ∙ MOUNT ∙ KISCO ∙ NEW ∙ YORK ∙ / 1917 - 1919; across top of cartouche, WORLD WAR; at bottom left, GORHAM CO.

I have not been able to identify this medal's artist or story and would appreciate any information regarding it.

The medal measures 50.7mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Gorham Company of Rhode Island. No mintage is reported.

The plaque's obverse bears Goodyear flag over legend.  Around upper half, THE · GREATEST · NAME · IN · RUBBER; across, 1898 / GOODYEAR / 50 / ANNIVERSARY / 1948

The reverse bears kneeling male figure, facing left, holding winged wheel in raised hands behind his head; Goodyear tire with logo by his feet; at cardinal points around medal are streamlined plane, car, train, and zeppelin. At upper left, FIFTY YEARS / DEVOTED TO / THE ADVANCE / MENT OF / TRANSPORT- / ATION; signed under tire at right, (RC monogram)

I don't know whether this quintessential art-deco design was ever realized.  It is not part of Dick Johnson's reference and I have not seen it in metal. I received the images from John Ball, a Library Associate at the University of Akron. The University of Akron received a large portion of the Goodyear archives when the company stopped employing its own historian.  Among the records was this design.

Please contact me if you have seen a medal or plaque resembling this design.

The medal's obverse bears dolphins over anchor, over crossed cannon barrels and fasces; large round knob at top.

The reverse is bare.

It is unknown whether Manship created this design for a commission, a design competition, or independently from a sense of patriotic fervor. Manship certainly was a fierce patriot who did what he could to support the war effort.

The exact date for this design is also not known but one of the other designs, the Army Valor decoration, has a sample date of 1918 inscribed on the reverse.  They all date roughly to the end of World War I, probably 1918 or 1919.

The cast bronze measures approximately 67mm x 79mm and weighs 238.5g.